Improvement in door-springs



JAMES K. GILFILLAN, OF SYRACUSE,

PATENT: QFFIGE.

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM GILFILLAN, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOOR-SPRINGS.

1 Specification forming part of Letters Patent No 174,516, dated March7, 1876; application filed November 27, 1875.-

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES K. GILFILLAN,

-of the city of Syracuse and State of New York, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Door-Springs, as set forth in the followingspecification, and in the drawings thereof, in which- Figure 1 is avertical section on the line Z Z in Fig. 2, and shows the invention in aclosed door, both the door and door-casing being shown in dotted lines.Fig. 2 represents the invention in an open door. Figs. 3 and 4 aredetails.

My invention relates to those door-sprin gs which are embedded in thedoor or door-casin g,

and in which the door receives the greatest force of the spring when thedoor is closed, and the least force when it is open, which severallyconsist, essentially, on the one hand,

of a supporting-plate bearing a system of lev- I ers and a spring, and asuitable mechanism for adjusting the tension of the spring, and, on theother hand, of a hook, together withsuitable connectionsfor the twoopposing portions of the apparatus.

My invention consists in pivoting the arm which supports the swingingend of the spring at the rear surface of the main supportingplate; inattaching the spring directly to the pivoted arm; and in adjustablysupporting the other end of the spring on a movable screw in a socketand T-slot formed on the main supporting-plate. It further consists indirectly attaching to the arm, pivoted directly at the rear surface ofthe main supporting-plate, a

rigid connectingbar, itself being directly joined to a hook rigidlysecured to the doorcasing. And it further consists in detachably unitingthe rigid connecting-bar with a hook rigidly atttached to the casing andindependent of the hinge.

Q stitute one of the bearings for a peculiar screw, to be hereafterdescribed.

The spring 0 is of the usual construction. The screw D consists of ashank, D, and a T- head. One end, D, Fig. 4-, of the head is of size topass from behind the plate A through the cross portion of the T-slot inthe plate A.

This end has a neck of size to slide in the longer portion of theT-slot. The head has sides beveled to correspond with the bevel of thesides of the slot. The other end of the T-headof the screw D has a hookover which one end of the spring is placed.

On the shank of the screw, and having a toothed perimeter which projectsinto the cross part of the T-slot in plate A, rides a'screwthreaded nut,d. It is obvious that by turn ing this nut with any suitable tool thescrew D is worked backward or forward parallel to the plate A, and thatthereby the tension of the spring 0 is regulated. This construction addsstrength and cheapness to the adjusting device.

In such apparatus heretofore, where adjustment of the spring waspossible from the outside, the screw had its bearing in a slottedcylinder cast on the back of plate A. The whole strain, in the oldconstruction, was at one-end of the screw, while in my device the strainpulls between the two extremities and supports of the screw D.

Near one end, and on the back of the plate A, are formed two eyes, 0 0,one on each edge of the plate, which serve as journals for a pintle onwhich turns an arm, E. On the pivotal end of this arm, and on one edgethereof, is a square shoulder, which, when the arm is nearlyperpendicular to the plate A, strikes against the back side thereof,between the ribs 0 a, and prevents the arm from turning farther in thatdirection. The upper edge of the foot of the arm E is rounded, and thebody of the arm may be straight or slightly curved. If straight, the eyem should project from the arm E farther than is shown in the drawings.Two eyes are formed on the opposite sides of the head of the arm E. v

The connecting-bar F has, at the end farthest from the arm E, akeyhole-shaped eye, f, which, at the inner end, is wide enough toreceive the knob n of the casing-hook G. The eye gradually becomesnarrower, than the diameter of the knob, and yet is large enough to holdloosely the neck of the hook G, which is secured to the outside of thecasing of the door, and projects toward the aperture 0.

The advantages of this construction are that the hook, being secured tothe outside of the casing, and projecting from it instead of projectinginwardly, there need be no excava tion of the casing to receive thehook; and the hook being also opposite the slot 0 of the plate A, thebar may connect directly with the arm E.

The operation of the spring is as follows: The door having beenexcavated, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the supportingpl ate A,bearin g all its attachments, is securely fastened at or near its endsto the door. The casing-hook is also secured to the casing directlyopposite to the slotcin plate A. Thedoor being placed slightly open, theconnecting-bar F is placed onto the hook G, and the force of the spring0 is permitted to draw the bar toward the door and secure it in thenarrowest part of the key-hole slot of the connectingbar. The door beingshut, the casing-hook projects entirely within the slot 0, and no partof the door-spring is in view. As the door is gradually opened itrecedes from the casinghook, which holds the connecting-bar, and theswinging end of the arm E gradually turns vertically toward the slot 0,while the connect ing-bar F is gradually turning horizontally, both onthe hook G and on the eye of the bar E, until, finally, when the door iscompletely open, the bar E lies nearly parallel to the plate A, thespring 0 is bent against lever E, the eye m projects through'and beyondthe slot 0, and the arm F extends nearly horizontally, and close to andparallel with the face of the casing and the edge of the door. Inclosing the door the operation is reversed, The tension of the springisregulated by tnrning the nut D with any suitable tool.

If the supporting-plate and its attachments be embedded in the casing,and the hook attached to the door, or if the whole device he inverted,so that the part now shown uppermost shall be beneath, in either casethe operation will be the same as when in the position illustrated anddescribed.

What I claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the plate A, having a T-slot, a socket, :12,eyes 0 0, and aperture 0, and with spring 0 and pivoted bar E, of theT-headed screw D, one branch of its head riding in the T-slot, and theserrated nut d, as and for the purpose set forth. v

2. The combination of the bar E, pintled directly at the rear surface ofthe supportingplate A of plate A, having leversupports 0 0, and aperture0, and the connecting-bar F, attached to the eye m, with the rigidlyattached casing-hook G, all arranged as described.

3. The combination of the plate A, having slot 0, the hook G, havingknob n, the rigid ,connecting-bar F, having key hole slot f, and thespring (1 and the bar E, pivoted on plate A, the connecting-bar F beingattached directly to the pintled bar E, as and for the pur pose setforth.

JAMES K. GILFILLAN.

